A solid "ok" out of 10
What the fuck is even going on
terrivel
Currently playing in-between adventures. Good game concept, it can be fun, it can also be fairly tedious, and unlocking rewards is a slow grind. The overall game experience is chaotic. It;s like splatoon but with hero shooter elements that make me not want to try the other characters. There is a single player mode that can serve as a training mode for the characters. Its meh to be honest.
Oh, it's a game that will cost money later on down the line and is more focused on forcing us to spend money for battle passes and what not. No thanks.
不知道SE为啥做了这么个游戏，有这资源做点别的不好吗
音乐还可以
音乐还可以
Such a waste of time. I was kind of hyped seeing this in the PlayStation State of Play but it couldn't keep me hooked for over an hour.
While it's a bit inconsistent, I do like the art style, especially the 2D art style. The animation for everything is a bit stiff though and the story mode's cutscenes could probably be made in PowerPoint. The controls are fairly smooth and fun, though.
I would also like to talk about the near $70 AUD SKIN PACKS??? For like one character and weapon skin per pack. What? Thankfully it's a free game through PlayStation Plus but why does there have to be an item shop, let alone the PRICES, heck.
The story mode is boring, all you do is mindlessly fight easy waves in the same arena every mission while listening to characters talk.
I can't speak for the online modes because I could not get into a single match. I'm thinking this game might've died as soon as it came out.
The game is also reminding me why Splatoon doesn't have voice acting. If you're going to play Foamstars, at least switch to the Japanese voices. But speaking of Splatoon, it tries so hard to be that and fails in every regard, so maybe just go and play that.
While it's a bit inconsistent, I do like the art style, especially the 2D art style. The animation for everything is a bit stiff though and the story mode's cutscenes could probably be made in PowerPoint. The controls are fairly smooth and fun, though.
I would also like to talk about the near $70 AUD SKIN PACKS??? For like one character and weapon skin per pack. What? Thankfully it's a free game through PlayStation Plus but why does there have to be an item shop, let alone the PRICES, heck.
The story mode is boring, all you do is mindlessly fight easy waves in the same arena every mission while listening to characters talk.
I can't speak for the online modes because I could not get into a single match. I'm thinking this game might've died as soon as it came out.
The game is also reminding me why Splatoon doesn't have voice acting. If you're going to play Foamstars, at least switch to the Japanese voices. But speaking of Splatoon, it tries so hard to be that and fails in every regard, so maybe just go and play that.
Now that I've 100%'ed FOAMSTARS, I have a new perspective. Splatoon and Foamstars have 98% of the same ingredients, but FOAMSTARS’s sulfates and parabens leave you with a less volumetric, healthy looking shine.
FOAMSTARS is the first game I’ve played which is designed entirely around selling people a “season pass” and it’s very informative about how these games work and why gamers are so angry at them all the time.
The honeymoon period was great, largely because it’s a decent game that’s ""“Free”"". What was a pick-up-and-play game with the promise of something new after every milestone has gotten less exciting now that it takes approximately as long to find a match as it takes to play the game. When you’re waiting almost 6 minutes to play a game that has a 6 minute timer but usually lasts 3-4 minutes, I don’t think it will be around long. Considering the game came out less than 2 weeks ago, I wouldn’t expect to be playing it in 2025.
At this stage the game is all about player engagement. They do this by dangling a list of 40 unlockable items that are changed out every 5 weeks. The first 15 levels were easy and fast to get, But slowly and surely, the grind got longer to the point where you probably need to play for 15-20 hours to unlock everything in a given “season pass”. This is a pretty unreasonable thing to ask of a normal person. So I think they give you the best items at the beginning (new character if you pay) and the middle (around where exp grinding gets annoying), and something at the end (new character if you don’t pay) that it makes you feel like you’re missing out on something of value if you don’t organize your life around the game. For players who do pay for a $6 season pass, their reward for the grinding is in the form of a skin which retails at an absurd $45 USD. It's all artificial value, they could have just sold that skin and everything in the season pass for $6 and it wouldn't seem like a "deal". People are buying and unlocking these things, even though everyone looks the same when they’re covered in foam.
For those of us who don’t want to fork out $6 a month to play the same game we’re alerady playing for free, you miss out on “content”, mostly in the form of emotes and junk skins like new colors of your surf board or your weapon or a neon light that appears on your back. These are even more trivial than the character skins, but I don’t think people actually care what these rewards are or do, it’s more that they are unlocking something for a hard day’s work in the foam mines. It’s like a transactional relationship between the player and the game.
Meanwhile I paid $40 USD for Splatoon 3 and can safely say unlocking stuff in that game isn’t the focus. The actual gameplay is why you’re there, and the cosmetics are just nice to have and largely forgettable. I am sort of ‘working toward’ getting better dualies but it’s so that I can play the game better, not just so that my character does a unique fortnite dance in the select screen. There’s also much more thought put into its single player and alternative game modes. Having the peace of mind that I’ll be able to put down Splatoon for a month, a year, three years and still have a complete experience is far preferable to the idea that if I don’t play the game for 20 hours this month I won’t unlock Mel T. as a playable character.
I never played or had interest in a live service game before and suspected it was bad, but the reward incentives seem like a very an unhealthy way to spend one’s time. I think I will wash my hands of Foamstars…. without soap.
FOAMSTARS is the first game I’ve played which is designed entirely around selling people a “season pass” and it’s very informative about how these games work and why gamers are so angry at them all the time.
The honeymoon period was great, largely because it’s a decent game that’s ""“Free”"". What was a pick-up-and-play game with the promise of something new after every milestone has gotten less exciting now that it takes approximately as long to find a match as it takes to play the game. When you’re waiting almost 6 minutes to play a game that has a 6 minute timer but usually lasts 3-4 minutes, I don’t think it will be around long. Considering the game came out less than 2 weeks ago, I wouldn’t expect to be playing it in 2025.
At this stage the game is all about player engagement. They do this by dangling a list of 40 unlockable items that are changed out every 5 weeks. The first 15 levels were easy and fast to get, But slowly and surely, the grind got longer to the point where you probably need to play for 15-20 hours to unlock everything in a given “season pass”. This is a pretty unreasonable thing to ask of a normal person. So I think they give you the best items at the beginning (new character if you pay) and the middle (around where exp grinding gets annoying), and something at the end (new character if you don’t pay) that it makes you feel like you’re missing out on something of value if you don’t organize your life around the game. For players who do pay for a $6 season pass, their reward for the grinding is in the form of a skin which retails at an absurd $45 USD. It's all artificial value, they could have just sold that skin and everything in the season pass for $6 and it wouldn't seem like a "deal". People are buying and unlocking these things, even though everyone looks the same when they’re covered in foam.
For those of us who don’t want to fork out $6 a month to play the same game we’re alerady playing for free, you miss out on “content”, mostly in the form of emotes and junk skins like new colors of your surf board or your weapon or a neon light that appears on your back. These are even more trivial than the character skins, but I don’t think people actually care what these rewards are or do, it’s more that they are unlocking something for a hard day’s work in the foam mines. It’s like a transactional relationship between the player and the game.
Meanwhile I paid $40 USD for Splatoon 3 and can safely say unlocking stuff in that game isn’t the focus. The actual gameplay is why you’re there, and the cosmetics are just nice to have and largely forgettable. I am sort of ‘working toward’ getting better dualies but it’s so that I can play the game better, not just so that my character does a unique fortnite dance in the select screen. There’s also much more thought put into its single player and alternative game modes. Having the peace of mind that I’ll be able to put down Splatoon for a month, a year, three years and still have a complete experience is far preferable to the idea that if I don’t play the game for 20 hours this month I won’t unlock Mel T. as a playable character.
I never played or had interest in a live service game before and suspected it was bad, but the reward incentives seem like a very an unhealthy way to spend one’s time. I think I will wash my hands of Foamstars…. without soap.
for someone expecting a soulless clone of Splatoon, I've found that this game has a lot of care and quality in its presentation: from UI, soundtrack, humor, gameplay, movement, characters, game modes, etc.
Unfortunately, it has very little content as it is, and even though I'm sure they were planning on expanding this in future seasons, it feels like the game is already dead. Would not be surprised if this first season was also the last.
Unfortunately, it has very little content as it is, and even though I'm sure they were planning on expanding this in future seasons, it feels like the game is already dead. Would not be surprised if this first season was also the last.
Que haces sony
45 dolares un paquete completo para cada personaje XDDDD
It's a somewhat alright game if you can't play Splatoon. There ain't much else going on with it.
Played the game once for 15 minutes, I wanted more time but this game simply doesn't interest me enough, another destruction all stars that no one will remember, especially with Helldivers 2 around. Doesn't even deserve to be in people's brains; 45 bucks for a skin? my ass
Not bad, just not any good either. A very generic Splatoon knock-off that should very obviously be free-to-play, especially with the aggressive microtransactions.
Gameplay has its moments but movement feels clunky, it's too visually busy and you spend WAY too long in downtime between matches.
Also the fact you're not automatically entered into a matchmaking queue when a round ends is INSANE. Like, this should be the most basic feature of any casual multiplayer game.
Considering how it takes ages to matchmake even within mere days of release I imagine this game isn't long for this world. Dead in a month.
Gameplay has its moments but movement feels clunky, it's too visually busy and you spend WAY too long in downtime between matches.
Also the fact you're not automatically entered into a matchmaking queue when a round ends is INSANE. Like, this should be the most basic feature of any casual multiplayer game.
Considering how it takes ages to matchmake even within mere days of release I imagine this game isn't long for this world. Dead in a month.
i mean its something ig
gameplay isnt the worst ever and i quite enjoyed it + the music isnt too bad and the vibe feels nice but everything else just kinda sucks. ai usage, lazy ideas and charged battlepasses and skins that are completely overpriced make for another square enix moment
honestly just play splatoon lol
gameplay isnt the worst ever and i quite enjoyed it + the music isnt too bad and the vibe feels nice but everything else just kinda sucks. ai usage, lazy ideas and charged battlepasses and skins that are completely overpriced make for another square enix moment
honestly just play splatoon lol
Some of the characters need to shut the hell up and stop talking. Gameplay is very splatoon inspired but different enough to not feel like an imitation. The foam stuff in particular with it being able to stack and create walls is interesting. Overall though, kinda eh but good to kill a couple minutes with.
A soulless, corporate cash-grab that not only fails in every regard, but especially fails to take your money.
I won’t lie, the game’s aesthetics and its music are phenomenal, and were the two things that initially drew me to it (that, and receiving this game for free from PS+). Unfortunately, those are the only compliments I have for the game. The map design is boring, character designs are generic, gameplay is uninteresting and disengaging, and there is absolutely nothing to feel any attachment towards. The reason why games like Overwatch, Apex, Splatoon, and hell — even Fortnite — are all enjoyable, aside from their addictive gameplay loop, is that they all have stories and characters that people grow attached to. People engage with them beyond the confines of the game because they love the worlds and narratives built from the characters.
Foamstars has none of that.
Foamstars has a narcissistic main character with some of the worst voice acting I’ve heard in a minute, along with a basic cast of characters that have nothing going for them. Nada. Their depth is essentially “hey this is their gender and their style of clothes!” Cool, I guess. You know what Overwatch has? A cringefail gorilla scientist who’s best friend is a temporally-unstable British lesbian and several people who won’t call him back. I’m gonna go play that instead, thanks.
Anyways, moral of the story is you’d be better off playing anything else. Literally anything. Go outside and play with sticks and rocks and I can guarantee you that you’ll have more fun with that than with this game.
I won’t lie, the game’s aesthetics and its music are phenomenal, and were the two things that initially drew me to it (that, and receiving this game for free from PS+). Unfortunately, those are the only compliments I have for the game. The map design is boring, character designs are generic, gameplay is uninteresting and disengaging, and there is absolutely nothing to feel any attachment towards. The reason why games like Overwatch, Apex, Splatoon, and hell — even Fortnite — are all enjoyable, aside from their addictive gameplay loop, is that they all have stories and characters that people grow attached to. People engage with them beyond the confines of the game because they love the worlds and narratives built from the characters.
Foamstars has none of that.
Foamstars has a narcissistic main character with some of the worst voice acting I’ve heard in a minute, along with a basic cast of characters that have nothing going for them. Nada. Their depth is essentially “hey this is their gender and their style of clothes!” Cool, I guess. You know what Overwatch has? A cringefail gorilla scientist who’s best friend is a temporally-unstable British lesbian and several people who won’t call him back. I’m gonna go play that instead, thanks.
Anyways, moral of the story is you’d be better off playing anything else. Literally anything. Go outside and play with sticks and rocks and I can guarantee you that you’ll have more fun with that than with this game.
I can’t see this lasting but it’s neat. Really half baked in some areas and really over detailed in others which results in a game that’s pretty fucking funny in all honesty, the weird inconsistent theming and sheer chaos of the gameplay combined with the amazingly terrible humor results in such a surreal experience. The core gameplay is thankfully fun enough to make all of that stuff more charming than not.
Foamstars is an attempt at trying to be the next hot multiplayer game by combining aspects of Splatoon and OverWatch.
The atmosphere is very chill and relaxing, but in order to earn rewards from the Battle Pass you have to continuously grind the multiplayer modes, which can be stressful. It doesn’t help that the player base is very small, so it can take several minutes to even get a match.
The combat is very fun though. Gameplay is tied to characters rather than weapons, with each character having their own playstyle. The problem is, as of writing this, there are only eight characters (six care available at the beginning, one is unlocked through leveling up, and another you have to buy). Only one person on each team can be each character, so if someone locks in a character you’re good at before you do, you have to choose another one.
The “Story Mode” really only exists to serve as an extended tutorial for the starting characters. Which would be fine, but there is an actual plot that was built up, expanded upon a tiny bit, and zero resolution to any of it. I thought that there would be a seventh story mode that unlocks after doing the others, but nope.
The in game shop is all cosmetics that you buy with real money. They are all super expensive though, and not really worth it.
Foamstars had some potential, but it was ultimately kinda wasted in my opinion. I think it would be better if the developers focused on making a full fledged story mode with fun levels and bosses, while making multiplayer secondary.
The atmosphere is very chill and relaxing, but in order to earn rewards from the Battle Pass you have to continuously grind the multiplayer modes, which can be stressful. It doesn’t help that the player base is very small, so it can take several minutes to even get a match.
The combat is very fun though. Gameplay is tied to characters rather than weapons, with each character having their own playstyle. The problem is, as of writing this, there are only eight characters (six care available at the beginning, one is unlocked through leveling up, and another you have to buy). Only one person on each team can be each character, so if someone locks in a character you’re good at before you do, you have to choose another one.
The “Story Mode” really only exists to serve as an extended tutorial for the starting characters. Which would be fine, but there is an actual plot that was built up, expanded upon a tiny bit, and zero resolution to any of it. I thought that there would be a seventh story mode that unlocks after doing the others, but nope.
The in game shop is all cosmetics that you buy with real money. They are all super expensive though, and not really worth it.
Foamstars had some potential, but it was ultimately kinda wasted in my opinion. I think it would be better if the developers focused on making a full fledged story mode with fun levels and bosses, while making multiplayer secondary.
SOLO DIGO, SI VAS A HACER UN JUEGO COMO SERVICIO, QUE
1) tiene Microtransacciones con dinero real y no puedes conseguir monedas del juego por jugar
2) Elijes un modo de juego tan aburrido como Modo principal
3) VAS A LANZAR LA DEMO DE FF7 2 EL MISMO DIA
4) Puedes obtener cosas P2W
5) El modo historia carece de una verdadera historia
6) El subir de nivel es tan lento y el pase de batalla dura 1 mes
ENTONCES NO LO HAGAS
1) tiene Microtransacciones con dinero real y no puedes conseguir monedas del juego por jugar
2) Elijes un modo de juego tan aburrido como Modo principal
3) VAS A LANZAR LA DEMO DE FF7 2 EL MISMO DIA
4) Puedes obtener cosas P2W
5) El modo historia carece de una verdadera historia
6) El subir de nivel es tan lento y el pase de batalla dura 1 mes
ENTONCES NO LO HAGAS
Um modo história pobre, microtransações caras, personagens sem carisma. Porém as músicas são boas e animações bem polidas, mas é só isso. Agredeço o @MrCaiopss por ter tornado essa experiência menos pior.
music kinda bangs at least
This game fucking blows, dude. How the fuck did "Splatoon, but like, bubble baths, and with none of the heart or thought that went into its art style " get past the pitch stage. It fails so miserably to beat the AI game allegations, and I guarantee you that if NFTs hadn't died out by this point there would be some kind of marketplace built into the game.
There's like, 12 percent of a fun game here? The acting and dialogue is so dogshit that it I nearly turned it off during the tutorial because you can't skip dialogue. Cool character designs, but nothing behind those designs.
Foamstar these nuts.
There's like, 12 percent of a fun game here? The acting and dialogue is so dogshit that it I nearly turned it off during the tutorial because you can't skip dialogue. Cool character designs, but nothing behind those designs.
Foamstar these nuts.
I wish I could rate this higher because I really enjoyed this game when it was first released. Admittedly, I don't like shooter games, I really don't care for these types of games at all, but I really enjoyed this one at launch. The combat is fast-paced, satisfying, and full of diverse play styles, and cool types of special attacks. Unfortunately, where this game loses its strength for me is in two categories; the campaign, and the greed (Thanks Square Enix).
Before I start this review though, I will say address the elephant in the room; Initially, I had no intentions of even playing this game, since it just looked like an obvious Splatoon ripoff with not a lot of substance. It certainly is a Splatoon ripoff, but it does have substance. This game mechanically is quite a bit different from Splatoon due to the completely different game modes and character classes. It's still obvious that Splatoon was the #1 inspiration for this game, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a completely unoriginal ripoff, it does enough to stand on its own. Just because you like Splatoon doesn't mean you'll like Foamstars and vice versa.
The Campaign
First things first, the campaign is fun. It's simple and easy, but that makes sense since it's meant to act as a tutorial for each character, and I think it does well at fulfilling that purpose. I can understand some people not liking the cast or finding them annoying, but while the characters aren't great by any means, they're fun and I enjoyed some of the character interactions. The missions definitely lack variety and are insanely easy though. I never died once throughout the game.
However, the thing that caught me the most off guard... There is no ending. I completed every character campaign, and there is no ending. I feel like I'm missing something, but from what I've Googled, I'm not missing anything. Obviously, if there was gonna be an ending, it wouldn't be anything all that interesting since this is a very simple story. That being said though, there are still a few pieces of unexplained lore and unfinished character arcs that are very important to the story that I expected to be wrapped up in a final mission, or maybe even just a short 2-minute cutscene... But nope! That's it! It just ends. Not even a pop-up message that says "You won!" or anything, it just ends.
While the campaign isn't bad, it's certainly unfinished and lacking any sort of polish. Maybe it'll get finished in an update or something like that, but I just don't care. Such an unsatisfying conclusion that makes me feel as if I've wasted my time playing a laughably easy and slow tower defense game with characters I only somewhat like being the main focus.
That being said, I really love the visuals of this. I think the art at the end of the missions are really nice looking, and the character designs are good. I love the atmosphere and look of Bath Vegas. The soundtrack is also shockingly really good too.
The Online
Now here's what you're here for, the online. I don't have a whole lot to say, since I'm not a huge online shooter player, but I enjoy the main "Smash the Star" mode. It's a unique idea and I had a fun time playing it. My main issue is the visibility for sure since a lot is happening on screen at once, so it can be hard to see what's going on sometimes. But for the most part, it's pretty straightforward, fun, and has a reasonable amount of depth. I enjoy all the different character classes, and I think all the characters are fun to play and have pretty good potential online.
That being said, I really don't see this game having a long-lasting dedicated community, and I believe it'll die off soon. Which while I kind of wish this game would last longer, since it is fun and I think has lots of potential, I also kind of hope this game flops just to spite Square Enix.
The Greed
Now even though this is a heartfelt game made by a passionate team, it certainly still suffers from being published by a huge company like Square Enix. For one, the cosmetic bundles you can buy in this game using real-life money cost $40!?!? $40 for a bundle of cosmetics in a video game, it's so insanely greedy to the point that it's actually laughable. Also, apparently, some of the in-game album covers were generated by A.I, which is really sad since this game is obviously done by talented artists, and they shouldn't have to resort to stealing other people's art to create art. I think this goes to show Square Enix's vision for this game. They see it as a money-machine and not actually as a work of art, and that's obviously a problem.
I believe the actual team making this game is clearly passionate about it, since the world is really fun and creative. But I wouldn't be surprised if SE decided to have them focus heavily on the online aspect of the game since that's where the money is, which resulted in the campaign being unfinished and resulted in the overpriced cosmetics.
A Foamy Conclusion
While Foamstars is creative and not as unoriginal as I had initially thought, and while there is some fun to be had in the online mode, especially with the cool character classes and move sets, the game is still unfortunately dragged down by Square Enix's greed which shines through every corner of this game. If this game were done by an indie team, or even by a better company, I could easily see this game being truly amazing. But what we got is a rough experience. I hope to see this game improve, but I really don't think it can thanks to Square Enix.
Before I start this review though, I will say address the elephant in the room; Initially, I had no intentions of even playing this game, since it just looked like an obvious Splatoon ripoff with not a lot of substance. It certainly is a Splatoon ripoff, but it does have substance. This game mechanically is quite a bit different from Splatoon due to the completely different game modes and character classes. It's still obvious that Splatoon was the #1 inspiration for this game, but I wouldn't necessarily call it a completely unoriginal ripoff, it does enough to stand on its own. Just because you like Splatoon doesn't mean you'll like Foamstars and vice versa.
The Campaign
First things first, the campaign is fun. It's simple and easy, but that makes sense since it's meant to act as a tutorial for each character, and I think it does well at fulfilling that purpose. I can understand some people not liking the cast or finding them annoying, but while the characters aren't great by any means, they're fun and I enjoyed some of the character interactions. The missions definitely lack variety and are insanely easy though. I never died once throughout the game.
However, the thing that caught me the most off guard... There is no ending. I completed every character campaign, and there is no ending. I feel like I'm missing something, but from what I've Googled, I'm not missing anything. Obviously, if there was gonna be an ending, it wouldn't be anything all that interesting since this is a very simple story. That being said though, there are still a few pieces of unexplained lore and unfinished character arcs that are very important to the story that I expected to be wrapped up in a final mission, or maybe even just a short 2-minute cutscene... But nope! That's it! It just ends. Not even a pop-up message that says "You won!" or anything, it just ends.
While the campaign isn't bad, it's certainly unfinished and lacking any sort of polish. Maybe it'll get finished in an update or something like that, but I just don't care. Such an unsatisfying conclusion that makes me feel as if I've wasted my time playing a laughably easy and slow tower defense game with characters I only somewhat like being the main focus.
That being said, I really love the visuals of this. I think the art at the end of the missions are really nice looking, and the character designs are good. I love the atmosphere and look of Bath Vegas. The soundtrack is also shockingly really good too.
The Online
Now here's what you're here for, the online. I don't have a whole lot to say, since I'm not a huge online shooter player, but I enjoy the main "Smash the Star" mode. It's a unique idea and I had a fun time playing it. My main issue is the visibility for sure since a lot is happening on screen at once, so it can be hard to see what's going on sometimes. But for the most part, it's pretty straightforward, fun, and has a reasonable amount of depth. I enjoy all the different character classes, and I think all the characters are fun to play and have pretty good potential online.
That being said, I really don't see this game having a long-lasting dedicated community, and I believe it'll die off soon. Which while I kind of wish this game would last longer, since it is fun and I think has lots of potential, I also kind of hope this game flops just to spite Square Enix.
The Greed
Now even though this is a heartfelt game made by a passionate team, it certainly still suffers from being published by a huge company like Square Enix. For one, the cosmetic bundles you can buy in this game using real-life money cost $40!?!? $40 for a bundle of cosmetics in a video game, it's so insanely greedy to the point that it's actually laughable. Also, apparently, some of the in-game album covers were generated by A.I, which is really sad since this game is obviously done by talented artists, and they shouldn't have to resort to stealing other people's art to create art. I think this goes to show Square Enix's vision for this game. They see it as a money-machine and not actually as a work of art, and that's obviously a problem.
I believe the actual team making this game is clearly passionate about it, since the world is really fun and creative. But I wouldn't be surprised if SE decided to have them focus heavily on the online aspect of the game since that's where the money is, which resulted in the campaign being unfinished and resulted in the overpriced cosmetics.
A Foamy Conclusion
While Foamstars is creative and not as unoriginal as I had initially thought, and while there is some fun to be had in the online mode, especially with the cool character classes and move sets, the game is still unfortunately dragged down by Square Enix's greed which shines through every corner of this game. If this game were done by an indie team, or even by a better company, I could easily see this game being truly amazing. But what we got is a rough experience. I hope to see this game improve, but I really don't think it can thanks to Square Enix.
it sure is something
I wanted to like this. Splatoon 3 kinda felt like a cash grab with Splatoon 2 already being on the switch. So I welcomed competition, even if Foamstars looked to be a rip off of Splatoon, it could still be a good one. The announcement trailer looked high quality. But this just ain't it.
The single player is downright pathetic. It's a tower defense game, where all maps are an open square, where all enemies come from one side in very small numbers, and there are more boring conversations than actual gameplay (maybe the others are better, but I did all three for Soa. And it's all the same). I did all three Soa missions with an S+ rank on my first try, and I suck at tower defense if that gives any indication.
The online is pretty fun, but it often takes a while to find a lobby, especially for any mode other than Smash the Star. Combine this with a battle pass and microtransactions and it's a recipe for yet another failed live service game, I wonder if this game will even make it past season 1 or 2.
The single player is downright pathetic. It's a tower defense game, where all maps are an open square, where all enemies come from one side in very small numbers, and there are more boring conversations than actual gameplay (maybe the others are better, but I did all three for Soa. And it's all the same). I did all three Soa missions with an S+ rank on my first try, and I suck at tower defense if that gives any indication.
The online is pretty fun, but it often takes a while to find a lobby, especially for any mode other than Smash the Star. Combine this with a battle pass and microtransactions and it's a recipe for yet another failed live service game, I wonder if this game will even make it past season 1 or 2.
A decently fun, arcade splatoon ripoff. In desperate need of additional maps and game modes.
It's got some charming elements that were clearly thought out for children, but then the game was designed for a T audience. The basic gameplay is good, but there's not enough variety in the modes and maps. The singleplayer is also too basic and each character's maps are nearly identical. The microtransactions are very bad, at $45 for some packs. With some work, this could have been something very special and nice. But in its chase for MTX and not really understanding what made Splatoon special in the first place, it fails to deliver a satisfying experience. It just feels like this game was sent out to die.
still better than splatoon
I don’t know why I downloaded this, it doesn’t look like something I would enjoy. I have a backlog full of probably much higher quality games but I spent some time on this. It’s free on PS plus that’s why and I thought, ‘what’s the harm in giving it a go, it might be fun?’
I shouldn’t be supporting games like this, even if I don’t spend money on it and it’s just a free download and some time put in. I wouldn’t even have PS Plus essential if I didn’t need it for online play. Now I have a bunch of games I feel somewhat obligated to try every month so I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. Thanks Microsoft for making paying for online multiplayer the norm. You got into consoles because you were afraid Sony would take over everyone’s living room. You somehow convinced everyone to pay for online, while dead 360s were being stacked sky high at your doorstep. You abandoned your core audience and took a hard turn into Kinect. Then you had an interesting Xbox One reveal, that required a lot of back tracking and fixing your image. I haven’t played everything but it seems like you mishandled or messed up every successful series you had. You failed at providing healthy competition that would have been beneficial to us consumers. Now you are pushing the all digital/subscription future. Uncle Phil isn’t your buddy looking out for gamers interests he is the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. How is Xbox Game Pass really that different to what they were trying to do back at the Xbox One reveal? They just realised that you need a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. It’s funny and sad watching people laugh at or criticise the Xbox One reveal and then talk about how good of a deal Game Pass is. People don’t make the best decisions when they think they’ve got a good deal or are getting something for free, myself included. I already wasn’t planning on getting an Xbox Series console and their current direction, plus recent news, has strongly solidified that.
At least it wasn’t all bad. I still have my older Xbox consoles and I have good memories of games like Halo, Project Gotham Racing, Amped, Jet Set Radio Future, Ninja Gaiden, Forza, even Gears of War which I’m not the biggest fan of, and several others. Farewell Xbox…
Oh yeah Foamstars, let’s get back to that, I guess.
Foamstars is like a microwavable frozen meal. It lacks quality and quantity and it’s pretty questionable whether you should actually get it and try it. But sometimes you just don’t have the energy. You want to pull the packaging off something and press a button and just eat something because it gets the job done.
Foamstars is a lazy game you can throw on and not put any effort or much thought into. It’s an online multiplayer game you can play lying down. You don’t need to worry about communication or any of the negatives that come with that. You don’t need to worry about being competitive or not doing well. Don’t worry about skill, strategy, violence or language. Just put your feet up and shoot some bubbles. Sometimes a brainless activity like this can be beneficial. Sometimes you just need a break and there is some fun to be had here.
The monetization though. Wow. When I looked at the cost of things I laughed but then thought about how this game seems targeted at a younger audience and realised this is diabolical. It is like villain level stuff. Imagine making a game that, when you’re not hunting whales, you’re trying to separate children from their allowance, in a greedy, unfair way. Or you’re just relying on parents to not supervise their kids spending. That’s enough about this, don’t worry I won’t go on another tangent.
Apart from those issues Foamstars is so inoffensive that it’s almost offensive. It’s so bland and forgettable. It’s so bright and colourful and over the top but makes you feel nothing at all, except maybe slightly annoyed. But then you find out the characters actually secrete foam from their bodies. Think about that the whole time you’re playing, you’re welcome. I know I’m not the demographic they were going for but there isn’t much to like about the presentation, characters, dialogue and what little story there is. There is unskippable stuff too. But it’s got some quirks and the music isn’t bad.
The gameplay is okay, it’s four versus four, with a few different modes and there’s also a four player co-op mission mode or single player ones too. You have a main gun, two skills and a special and each character has their own set unique to them. None of it is really that good or satisfying to use. You need to foam up the map in your teams colour so you can surf around quicker while also taking on the other team at the same time. You have to keep hitting opponents until they are in a ball of foam, then they can be taken out or revived by a teammate. Obviously it’s not completely devoid of skill and a bit of strategy but there isn’t enough here. I wish you could move a bit more, like a dodge and a double jump would be cool. The missions are pretty bare bones, where you just face waves of enemies and there is a serious lack of variety in the versus modes too. It’s often too visually chaotic and takes too long to get back into matches as well. It is a bit of stress free fun but it isn’t good enough and has no lasting appeal. I had to change the region in the options to consistently get in matches too, so you might want to get in quick if you’re keen on trying this.
Is Foamstars a good use of your available free time/gaming time? No, no it’s not, but also kind of yes because sometimes you just want to chill, although there are most likely better ‘chill’ games available. It’s not a good game but when I’m in the right mood, I don’t mind getting foamed up.
3.9/10
I shouldn’t be supporting games like this, even if I don’t spend money on it and it’s just a free download and some time put in. I wouldn’t even have PS Plus essential if I didn’t need it for online play. Now I have a bunch of games I feel somewhat obligated to try every month so I feel like I’m getting my money’s worth. Thanks Microsoft for making paying for online multiplayer the norm. You got into consoles because you were afraid Sony would take over everyone’s living room. You somehow convinced everyone to pay for online, while dead 360s were being stacked sky high at your doorstep. You abandoned your core audience and took a hard turn into Kinect. Then you had an interesting Xbox One reveal, that required a lot of back tracking and fixing your image. I haven’t played everything but it seems like you mishandled or messed up every successful series you had. You failed at providing healthy competition that would have been beneficial to us consumers. Now you are pushing the all digital/subscription future. Uncle Phil isn’t your buddy looking out for gamers interests he is the CEO of Microsoft Gaming. How is Xbox Game Pass really that different to what they were trying to do back at the Xbox One reveal? They just realised that you need a spoonful of sugar to help the medicine go down. It’s funny and sad watching people laugh at or criticise the Xbox One reveal and then talk about how good of a deal Game Pass is. People don’t make the best decisions when they think they’ve got a good deal or are getting something for free, myself included. I already wasn’t planning on getting an Xbox Series console and their current direction, plus recent news, has strongly solidified that.
At least it wasn’t all bad. I still have my older Xbox consoles and I have good memories of games like Halo, Project Gotham Racing, Amped, Jet Set Radio Future, Ninja Gaiden, Forza, even Gears of War which I’m not the biggest fan of, and several others. Farewell Xbox…
Oh yeah Foamstars, let’s get back to that, I guess.
Foamstars is like a microwavable frozen meal. It lacks quality and quantity and it’s pretty questionable whether you should actually get it and try it. But sometimes you just don’t have the energy. You want to pull the packaging off something and press a button and just eat something because it gets the job done.
Foamstars is a lazy game you can throw on and not put any effort or much thought into. It’s an online multiplayer game you can play lying down. You don’t need to worry about communication or any of the negatives that come with that. You don’t need to worry about being competitive or not doing well. Don’t worry about skill, strategy, violence or language. Just put your feet up and shoot some bubbles. Sometimes a brainless activity like this can be beneficial. Sometimes you just need a break and there is some fun to be had here.
The monetization though. Wow. When I looked at the cost of things I laughed but then thought about how this game seems targeted at a younger audience and realised this is diabolical. It is like villain level stuff. Imagine making a game that, when you’re not hunting whales, you’re trying to separate children from their allowance, in a greedy, unfair way. Or you’re just relying on parents to not supervise their kids spending. That’s enough about this, don’t worry I won’t go on another tangent.
Apart from those issues Foamstars is so inoffensive that it’s almost offensive. It’s so bland and forgettable. It’s so bright and colourful and over the top but makes you feel nothing at all, except maybe slightly annoyed. But then you find out the characters actually secrete foam from their bodies. Think about that the whole time you’re playing, you’re welcome. I know I’m not the demographic they were going for but there isn’t much to like about the presentation, characters, dialogue and what little story there is. There is unskippable stuff too. But it’s got some quirks and the music isn’t bad.
The gameplay is okay, it’s four versus four, with a few different modes and there’s also a four player co-op mission mode or single player ones too. You have a main gun, two skills and a special and each character has their own set unique to them. None of it is really that good or satisfying to use. You need to foam up the map in your teams colour so you can surf around quicker while also taking on the other team at the same time. You have to keep hitting opponents until they are in a ball of foam, then they can be taken out or revived by a teammate. Obviously it’s not completely devoid of skill and a bit of strategy but there isn’t enough here. I wish you could move a bit more, like a dodge and a double jump would be cool. The missions are pretty bare bones, where you just face waves of enemies and there is a serious lack of variety in the versus modes too. It’s often too visually chaotic and takes too long to get back into matches as well. It is a bit of stress free fun but it isn’t good enough and has no lasting appeal. I had to change the region in the options to consistently get in matches too, so you might want to get in quick if you’re keen on trying this.
Is Foamstars a good use of your available free time/gaming time? No, no it’s not, but also kind of yes because sometimes you just want to chill, although there are most likely better ‘chill’ games available. It’s not a good game but when I’m in the right mood, I don’t mind getting foamed up.
3.9/10